Soul Food
by Cyndy
Summary: Sequal to Soulless. A (us)/W Angelus returns to Sunnydale. C/A(us) friendship


Title: Soul Food 1/?

Pairing: W/A(us), C/A(us) (friendship)

Rating: PG-13

Author: Cyndy

Email: Cyndyr298@yahoo.com

Summary: Angelus is in L.A. He's still chipped and gets a call from his favorite redhead. The Fang Gang goes to Sunnydale to help the Scoobies.

Background: This takes place after "The Gift." If you haven't seen it, don't read this or it will spoil a BIG plot twist. Also, Angel's crew was never sucked into the Host's dimension. I'm assuming that after "Epiphany", they all figuratively "kissed and made up".

Disclaimer: No profit was received. All of these characters belong to Joss. 

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Angelus was sprawled on his brand new leather sofa. He'd taken the liberty of sprucing up the Soulled Blunder's hotel. He patted himself down, looking for a cigarette. He could really use one. Damn, left them upstairs. Angelus glanced up to see that Wesley was still prattling on about something. The exasperating ex-Watcher was holding an ancient text, reading aloud with an almost feverish excitement. He was describing a Blogch demon ritual and what they do to their virgin sacrifices. 

Angelus' ears perked up at that. He remembered lots of 'virgin sacrifices' from both his human and vampire days. Though, when he was human the virgins walked away from the encounter. His mouth twisted into a smirk. And they usually walked back to him for more of the same. As a vampire, Angelus loved the way maidens tasted. Evidently, there was something to be said for purity after all. It was quite tasty. Some of his favorite hunting grounds were convents. Ahhh, those were the days. 

Angelus had come back from Sunnydale, determined to become Angel. He was convinced that through his 'better' half's connections, he could discover how to have this damnable chip removed. He'd told Wesley, Cordelia, and Gunn about his chip, though he omitted his little killing spree, and they'd been angry on his behalf. Apparently, Angel had to infrequently rough up humans in order to get information. They had agreed to help him and they'd been researching it ever since. 

The Fang Gang had all noticed an attitude change in Angel but had attributed it to his recent 'dark period' and subsequent 'epiphany.' They hadn't even questioned his better mood or his renewed sense of humor. All of them had simply accepted him, welcomed him back into the fold. 

Cordelia traipsed into the room. She held a bag emblazoned with a store logo aloft. "Guess what I found?"

Angelus sat up and patted the sofa. "Do tell."

She sat down with a flourish and reached into the bag to pull out a pair of fine leather gloves. "Bought these for you, Angel. They were on sale."

Angelus picked them up and put them on his hands. "Leather driving gloves." He said reverently. He'd always wanted a pair. " Thank you, Cordelia. You're a doll." He kissed her on the cheek. In the past weeks, the ex-cheerleader had grown on him. They had so much in common. She was vain. So was he. She had impeccable fashion sense. So did he. She was gorgeous. So was he. She had a Darla-like quality, but she wasn't as big of a pain in the ass. Satan knows, she had a better sense of humor. 

Yes, he and Cordelia had bonded quickly. It all started with retail. After being in L.A. for a few days, Angelus had begun to despair about Angel's wardrobe when she had suggested a shopping exertion. She was the one who encouraged him to buy some leather pants. He'd been afraid to wear them because everyone knew of his fondness for them. Now, they often went shopping together and even did lunch in trendy restaurants. She knew where all the sales were and she always made him laugh.

He smiled at her, this was one positive thing to come out of his chip fiasco. To think he could've eaten this girl without a second thought. Angelus vaguely remembered jumping on her once in a cemetery. Oh, well. He found Cordy's honesty refreshing. He considered turning her after he got his chip removed. And she thought moisturizing was the key to younger looking skin! Yes, she was lovely. Though, she wasn't as beautiful as a certain redhead he knew. 

Angelus had spoken with Willow on several occasions in the past few weeks. Things between his childe and his love weren't going as well as planned. In fact, it sounded as if the entire Scooby Gang were in trouble. Apparently, there was some hell goddess running around Sunnydale now. She was gunning for the Slayer and looking for The Key. He had offered to help, afraid Willow would caught in the crossfire, but oh-so-typically Buffy had refused. Well, as long as this hell goddess didn't harm his Willow, he wished the deity luck. 

"As I was saying," Wesley harrumphed. He opened his mouth to begin again and was promptly interrupted.

"Wes was just telling me how to properly perform a virgin sacrifice." Angelus leaned closer to her with a rakish smile. "Care to volunteer for a demonstration?" Then he raised one eyebrow at her. "Hmm. It was probably 'sacrificed' long ago."

Cordelia screeched and smacked him on the arm. "Angel!" He smiled, unrepentant. She was just too fun to tease. "Well, at least I'm getting some which is more than I can say for both of you." She reached into her bag. "Now, for the good stuff. Wait until you see what I got ME."

She pulled out a classic 'little black dress'. It would look perfect on her frame. He nodded in approval. Then she produced a bottle of perfume. She held out to him, he sniffed obligingly. "Mmm. Jasmine and a hint of musk?"

"Yep. Like it?"

"Very much. Good choices, Cordelia." 

"About those demons. . ." Wesley interrupted. 

"Can't you just tell me how to kill the demons and spare me the details?" Angelus was more of an action kind of vampire anyway. He honestly didn't care how these demons liked to eat their virgins as long as he could stop them and get on with his unlife.

Unfortunately, performing good acts was a side affect of becoming Angel. He'd killed countless demons. Oddly enough, Angelus had begun to get a taste for it though. Not that he liked being a do-gooder. It's just that demons were much more formidable adversaries than humans. It kept his fighting skills sharp and his wits about him. Angelus was convinced that this made him sort of a vampire's vampire. After all, he was terrorizing the things that terrorized humans. The only downside was that he couldn't eat the victims he saved. And all of those humans were rude. Not a single one of them had offered him some blood for saving their worthless, mortal hides. 

Gunn walked in, swinging an ax. "We gonna kill these uglies or what?"

"Sounds like a plan. Gotta love the slice and dice. It's a classic." Angelus said, standing up and walking to his weapons stash. He had a grudging admiration for the self-appointed vampire hunter. Gunn was quick on his feet and a fierce fighter for a human. He cast a speculative eye at the young man. He'd make one hell of a vampire one day. Once Angelus was restored to his former glory, of course.

*******

Later on that evening, half of the Angel Investigations crew walked back in the hotel. Wesley and Gunn had gone straight home after the fight. The demons were dead, the women had been saved. Good had won. Again. Well, whoopdifriggin'do! Angelus had more pressing matters. His pants, for example.

Angelus looked down at them. Covered in slime. What was it with demons and slime? They were always oozing it everywhere. And they always smelled. Disgusting! Another pair of perfectly good leather pants ruined for the sake of a few silly virgins. Being good was expensive. 

The phone rang and Angelus rolled his eyes. Great. Another victim in need. He picked up the receiver. "What?"

Cordelia scowled at him as they both sat in the main office. "Say the slogan!" She was removing some ick from her shoes with a paper towel.

"Oh, right. Angel Investigations. We know your helpless."

"We help the hopeless!" Cordy reminded him. 

He muttered under his breath. "Like it matters." Then, he snarled into the phone. "Look, I don't have all night here. Demons to kill. Leather to ruin, you know. What is it?"

"Angel?" A tentative voice said.

His entire demeanor changed. His voice become a little hoarse and more concerned. His eyes were softer. "Willow. What's wrong? You sound upset."

"Someone's gotta crush. Someone's gotta cruuuush." Cordy sang lightly. Angelus glared at her but his lips twitched. 

"I think you need to work on your sales pitch." Willow critiqued. 

"Sorry about that. I've had a bad night." Angelus apologized. Cordelia turned her back to him and hugged herself, making kissing noises. 

"I know what that's like." Willow said ruefully, thinking of demon misadventures.

Cordelia started to chant. "Angel and Willow sittin' in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G. First comes love, then comes marriage. Then, he'll lose his soul and-"

Angelus walked over to his former assistant, phone still pressed against his ear. "What's wrong, Willow? You sound down. Did Spike do something to upset you?" He tried not to seem too eager. He whirled Cordelia around but she merely grinned at him. She didn't even look scared. Dammit. He was losing his touch.

"Oh, Willow. Did that Spike upset you? Are you okay? Tell the big strong broody guy all about it. We'll mope together." Cordy mocked, doing his voice and furrowing her brow.

Angelus reached his hand out to the level of her throat and pantomimed squeezing it. He could hear Willow taking a breath, getting ready to speak. 

"What? You want me to wear a scarf?" Cordy said, eyes shooting mischief.

He sighed in disgust. Then, he acted like he was grasping something between his hands hard and it was struggling, trying to get away from him. Namely, her.

"Ewww." Cordelia said. "That's an alone time thing, Angel. Like, I don't know, when you're in the shower or something. Do it then." Then she make a barfy face. "Oh, and remind me to never use your shower." Queen C regally held her head high and exited the room. 

Angelus nearly choked on his laughter. "Willow are you still there?"

"We need you, Angel. Things are. . .it's bad here."

"Oh? Buffy needs my help, then?"

"Well, yes. But, she didn't ask for it. She needs you though. We all need you."

"I'll be there for you." Not for the blasted Slayer! " I'll be there tomorrow night."

"Can you bring the gang, too? We need everyone's help."

"Everyone? Do I have to bring Wesley?" Angelus asked, hoping for a laugh. She sounded so serious and worried. He wanted to lighten her mood.

He could hear the smile in her voice. "Yes, we need the book guy too." He could hear the sound of a door opening and Spike as he called out a greeting. "I have to go."

"But you just called and its been a little while since I last heard from you. Don't you want to-" The phone went dead. "Dammit."

Angelus walked over to Wesley's hidden stash of liquor. He needed a drink of another kind but, for now, vodka would have to do.

************

Angelus exited the room some time later a little less sober and a little more relaxed. Cordelia was waiting for him on the other side of the door. "Lover's quarrel?"

"No." 

"Oh, good." She blinked at him a couple of times. "So, we're going?"

"What?"

"To Sunnydale? Hello! Road trip?" She flashed him her dazzling Colgate smile and gestured to stylish luggage piled beside her on the floor. She always kept of a few essentials at the office. "I packed you a fresh pair of leather pants among other things."

"You went through my things?"

"Uh, yeah. I'm your wardrobe coordinator." She rolled her eyes. "And, just between you and me, Angel. Red bikini-style underwear? I don't think so." 

"I didn't buy it for you to see." He rose an eyebrow. "How did you know about--?"

"I heard her say that she needed you-

"She said Buffy needed me."

"So, I hung up the phone and started packing."

"You were eavesdropping?"

"Duh. Why do you think I had that other phone installed in the lobby? I could never get close enough to hear any of Wes's calls." She said simply. He stood gaping at her for a moment. "Don't look so shocked."

"I-"

"Wish I would have told you sooner so you could do it to? I'm sorry. Can we stop and eat first? Restaurants in Sunnydale suck."

Angelus picked up a suitcase and headed toward the door. "Ok, but Wes is riding in his car. We can pack all the weapons in it." Cordy smirked at him. "What? And don't start in on the Willow thing again."

"I wasn't going to." She laughed. 

"Then what?"

"So we can pack all the weapons?" She arched her brow. "You just don't want to ride with him because the last time he made you listen to that book on tape about ancient demon hygiene rituals." 

"And you want to see if he ordered the Time Life series?" He asked incredulously.

Cordy shrugged. "I'll call him. And Gunn, too."

Angelus snickered. "Tell Gunn he can ride with the weapons if he wants to."

"Yeah, he's not falling for that trick again." Cordy reached for the phone. "Not after the Burger King incident with the ketchup."

"Let us never speak of that again." Angelus shuddered. He was picky about being clean, but even he wasn't that anal about his car.

*********

Angelus and the gang cruised into town at 8:00 o'clock the next evening. "So, this is the big and bad Hellmouth town?" Gunn scoffed. "Looks kinda Mayberry-ish to me." He was sprawled in the bag seat. Angelus and Cordelia shared the front seat. Wesley was behind them in his SUV which was loaded with an impressive arsenal. 

"Give it five minutes. Then, you'll see some weird shit happen." Cordelia asserted. "It's pretty much the town motto."

They slowly cruised up Main St., looking for the Magic Box where the Scooby Gang now researched their demons. Angelus was disappointed. The highschool held such happy memories. Threatening Buffy. Holding Willow pressed tight against him. Teachers who ran too slow. Too bad about that Mayor Snake thing. 

They cruised by the Espresso Pump. That's when Cordy and Angelus spied Jekyll and Hide's, the new leather shop in town. A big banner proudly proclaimed "ALL LEATHER ITEMS 50% OFF". The car came to a screeching halt. The ex-cheerleader pointed to the store, like a general leading her troops into battle. "Angel, grab the plastic, it's a sale!" Angelus smoothly slid the car into a parking space and they bounded into the shop, eager as two children at the gates of Disney Land. The left a resigned Gunn and Wesley in their respective vehicles. They had now become quite accustomed to the shopping frenzy those two could get in. 

They walked in the door and there was nothing but leather. Wall to wall leather in every conceivable type of style and shape. Leather gloves, leather wallets, leather jackets, leather pants. Leather shoes, leather purses, and leather vests. "Look at all of it." Cordy said in awe. "Where do we go first?" 

"The ladies section. You need some red leather pants."

"Whoohooo!" Cordy said, doing a newly invented 'leather dance.' She followed behind the tall vampire as he cut a swath through the sea of people. 

Angelus selected a pair for his friend and waited patiently by the wall of dressing rooms while she tried them on. He sat there in one of their superb leather chairs. It was upholstered in a buttery suede and was decorated in steers, it was a bit cowboy for his taste but it felt divine. Maybe he could get one with things that he liked. A slaughter motif or something. 

While he sat there pondering a chair, a young woman approached him. "Move." She demanded haughtily. 

"Excuse you?" Angelus said, glaring up at her. 

"I need to sit. My legs are tired from walking. Do you have any idea how painful high heels are?" The vampire looked at her blankly. " Get out of my chair!"

"Maybe you should do a little more walking, judging from the size of those hips." He drawled, not liking her attitude. 

She stared down at him and placed her hands on her hips. "What did you say to me, you pathetic little human?" 

"I implied that you have big hips." Angelus asserted, standing up and towering over her. 

"Take that back!" She demanded imperiously. 

"Do you have any idea who you're dealing with, lady?" 

The young woman's eyes traversed his form. "One of those gay guys?"

"Gay guys?" Angelus snapped. "Of course not. I just have the taste of a gay man. I'm the Scourge of Europe."

"I don't care what boy band you sing in. Apologize. Now." She pointed down to her tasteless red pumps. "You should grovel before me. Beg for my forgiveness. Plead for--"

"I don't grovel, I'm Angelus!" He stood up taller. 

"I'm Glory!" She shouted.

"I'm bored." Cordy said. She came out of the dressing room and stared at the blond girl. "You can never leave blonds alone, can you? And since when did you like hookers?"

"I'm not a hooker!" Glory's eyes flashed. "I'm a god!"

Cordy did the universal sign for crazy by twirling a finger by her ear. "Okay, God, we have to be going."

"Not your powerless Christian God. I'm a hell god." 

"Ohhh." Angelus said, nodding. "We heard about you." He looked down at her outfit. "You'd think a god could accessorize better." 

"She's the almighty hell goddess?" Cordelia clarified. Angelus nodded and Cordy sprinted around behind him, peeking around his shoulder at her. "That's a really nice dress, your High Holy Hellness. I didn't mean to say that you were, uh, slutty. Did I really just use that word?" 

"Don't worry, Cordy, now that I know I she's a demon, I'm free to kick her big ass."

"Uh Ohhhh." Cordelia groaned and shook her head. "Are you nuts? She kicked Buffy's butt and you're trying to take her on?"

Angelus' smile was ruthless. He sized up the goddess. "She doesn't look that tough to me."

Glory moved into a fighting stance. "Fine, but you better not break one of my nails." She raised her chin. "I'll tell you what, vampire, I'll give you the first shot. Consider it a gift."

He balled up his fist and clipped her jaw, sending her flying against the room and into a clothing rack. The wide-eyed patrons streamed out the store and onto the sidewalk in a flurry of screaming and profanities. Glory got up and threw the clothing rack at Angelus. Cordy dashed out of the way and he ducked. It narrowly missed him. "That's the best you got?" She taunted.

"That was just a warm-up, honey." Angelus grasped a hanger on his way towards her. He plunged it through her arm as she tried to deflect the blow. "You wanted me head straight into the climax of the fight?" He shrugged. "I always thought women liked a little foreplay."

"Great, Angel. Sexually harass the crazy goddess. That's real smart." Cordy muttered. "Knew he was chatting her up."

Glory pulled the hanger out of her flesh; she'd never met a more irksome being. "You'll be nothing but a clean-up in aisle nine when I'm through wi-" 

She never got to finish her sentence. Angelus ignored her diatribe and then proceeded to sucker punch her. "I'm sick of strong blond girls mouthing off to me."

She seized his sleeve and ripped it off. "You ripped my shirt! Do you have any idea how much that cost." Then, he slid his eyes over her apparel with disdain. "Of course not. You shop at Walmart, right?"

'Take that back!"

"Make me, Blondie."

"Oh, for pity's sake." Cordelia interrupted. "Are you gonna fight or bitch each other to death?"

Glory used the distraction to shove Angelus and knocked him flat on his back. She fell on him heavily. "Uhh." He moaned. "How much do you weigh?"

She straddled his hips and grasped his shirt collar. "I'm light as a feather!"

"Yeah, well, I'm not stiff as a board." He taunted with all the smarm he could muster.

"Grrr! Why don't you behave like you should? You're supposed to look scared and try to run away."

"I don't do running."

"You're so-" Glory's hold on him slackened as she stretched her arms over her head, displaying her cleavage. She licked her lips and leaned over to kiss him. Angelus flinched. She wanted to kiss him? What the fu-

"Unbelievable!" Cordelia was appalled. "Hello, people! He's a eunuch." She grabbed a heavy leather duster and tossed it over the distracted deity's head. "You kneed to cover up, chickie." 

Angelus managed to shove her off of him in the resulting confusion. Wes and Gunn showed up in the door. "What's goin' on here?" Gunn asked. "We saw all the people run away. We couldn't get anywhere near this place though. Wall to wall screamers."

"Yes, whatever happened in here started a chain reaction." Wes explained. "Apparently, the denizens of Sunnydale have discovered its best to not go about your business when being attacked by the supernatural elements."

"That was long winded." Angelus snarked. Glory peeled the duster from her head and he ushered them to the door. "Come on, big evil is coming." They dashed out the door to the waiting vehicles. "Good save, Cor." He complimented as they hopped in the car. They peeled away from the curb, bound for the Scooby stronghold. 

"Thanks. And hey, I just didn't want to see anything that would scar me for life. You were on your way to becoming a hell god sex toy." She said to Angelus. 

Gunn's eyes widened. "That adds a whole new dimension of yuck."

"Tell me about it. He must send out a mating signal to all the blonds in the area or something."

"Maybe I'm just irresistible to women."

"That can't be it." She deadpanned. Something was bugging her though. Her brow furrowed as she turned to Angelus. "What's with the bitchy though? That's my department."

"What can I say?" He evaded. "Leather makes me crazy."

Cordelia frowned. Hmm...he was hiding something. Oh, well, she'd figure it out eventually. No secret was safe from Cordelia Chase. 


End file.
